gradiusfandomcom-20200215-history
Gradius: The Interstellar Assault
Gradius: The Interstellar Assault is the second portable game in the Gradius series, originally released in Japan for the Game Boy in 1992. It was released in 1991 in Japan as and in 1992 in Europe as 'Nemesis II: Return of the Hero. It is also a sequel to the Game Boy game, Nemesis. Both games can be considered a spin-off of the main series, but unlike Salamander and Gradius Gaiden, they don't appear to be part of the official Gradius canon seen in Gradius Galaxies. Story Only the blue light that shows a friendly ship illuminates the cockpit in the darkness which envelops all. The battle on the planet Nemesis is over. The monitor indicates landing coordinates. As soon as it lifted over from cruise mode and preparation for landing began, a strange sensation came from behind, and on this very moment a warning sound rang in the cockpit. "Energy reaction!" "Watch out! Scramble" At the same time as the noise cuts off communications, a cry and scream is heard on the cockpit. The light from the friendly warship disappears from the screen... The switch on the console is hit to find an emergency exit. "Sensor maximum range!" the data shows on the display. "Core-class? Battleship!" The speeding Vic Viper immediately evacuates towards the asteroid zone. Gameplay Once again the player takes control of the Vic Viper and flies through five different stages destroying the Bacterian's army. However, unlike most of the games in the series, the game lacks many reoccurring themes that have become a staple of the series. Some of the more popular elements missing from this game are: A moai stage or any moai enemies, classic Gradius stages, classic Gradius music, and the traditional giant entity that is unprotected and serves as a final boss. There are, however, a handful of classic elements that are present such as Core bosses and even a portion where the Vic Viper must maneuver around a countless array of tiny spaceships like those featured in the original Gradius. Weapons The game retains the traditional power-up bar from the original Gradius games. As usual the player can speed-up multiple times, use missiles, shoot double firepower or lasers, use several Options at a time and use the classic shield (although it is referred to as a force-field). However, before each game is started or continued, the player is given a "Weapon Select" screen. Here the player can choose between one of three settings for the missiles, double firepower, and lasers: *Missiles Options - Normal, 2 Way, or Tail. The 2-way missile is of the Salamander variety, not of the Gradius variety. That is to say, rather than falling out from your ship from the top and bottom, these missiles will travel along the lower and upper surface of the level as well. *Double Firepower Options - Normal, Twin Cannon, or Tail Gun *Laser Options - Normal, Twin, or Ripple Stages ''Note:' Boss names in italic are unnoficial Enemies *Dile *''Delta'' *''Worm'' *Boom *Jack *''Ball'' *Beetle *Cell *Slug *''Wasp'' *''Meatroll'' *''Roach'' *''Cocoon'' *Bit *Rail Dee-1 *Crarber *Zub *Dee Kai *Blaster-1 *Ray *Basara *Willerd *Bull *Iron *Shild *Foeless *Ducker-4 *Hell Cat *Big Foot *''Floating Dee'' *Enigma *''Guntower'' *Zub 2 *Jumper *Dee-01 *Hatch *Rush *''Big Robot'' *''Block'' *Broken Floor Ports A colored version of the game was later included in the Konami GB Collection series for Game Boy Color, along with other classic Konami titles. Trivia *This game has two explosion cutscenes. One of the Coreship, and the other of the Escape Ship. Category:Game Boy games